Who among us doesn't love snagging the occasional salad? In Conway, scratching the itch for gustatory greenery is easier than ever with Snag-A-Salad. Perhaps you've seen the restaurant's folding sign at the corner of Harkrider and Monroe, directing you down Monroe to 805, Suite 101. It opened in May and it’s not on a main drag, so it’s possible you haven’t made it there yet.

I was curious for a long time before I finally made the turn down Monroe. For some reason, I thought it would be a food truck, but no—it’s a proper walk-in restaurant with good parking. Open Monday through Friday for lunch only, they close at 2 p.m. However, the first time I attempted to try them out, I arrived at 1:45 to find the door locked, the staff obviously cleaning the space from the day’s lunch. You may feel differently, but the locked door didn’t make me feel excited about returning. But for the sake of every man, woman and sentient rock who reads this blog, return I did.

The first thing I noticed upon entering was the bright, clean space. It’s basic, but comfortable and attractive. The salad line is located in the back, but the register is up front, making it a little confusing as to what you’re supposed to do. As it turns out, you head for the back, peruse the menu drawn on the wall and place your order, then head for the register up front to pay. All meals are placed in to-go packaging, though you can choose to eat in. I took mine to the house.

I ordered the Asian Chicken salad, with shredded chicken, red cabbage, sesame seeds, and French fried onions. However, when I looked at the menu later, I realized it was also supposed to have carrots, Mandarin oranges, and sliced almonds. A single missing ingredient is an oversight, but three?

click to enlarge

Lacey Thacker

Asian chicken salad as delivered

On the upside, the quality of the greens was excellent, and the cabbage was also tasty. Unfortunately, the dressing combined with the sesame seeds made for a very sesame-flavored salad. Had the missing ingredients been on the salad, maybe it would have been more balanced, but I’d still order it sans sesame seeds if I had it to do over.

I also ordered the soup of the day, a hearty-sounding sausage, potato and spinach. There’s not too much to say about it, as it was about what you’d expect: pretty good. Though, I don’t claim to have the most refined palate, but I’m pretty sure basil was the flavor overwhelming my taste buds.

click to enlarge

Lacey Thacker

Sausage, potato and spinach soup

If you’re looking for a good place to get a quick lunch, Snag-A-Salad is worth the grab. Despite a few missteps on my recent visit, the salad quality was good, as were the ingredients in the soup. It’s also very inexpensive—my soup and salad were less than $9—and the salad options are varied. You can even build your own, which, given my experience, is likely what I’ll do in the future.

Readers also liked…

New music from Isaac Alexander.

A packed episode this week of "No Small Talk": a chat with Katy Henriksen, from Of Note on KUAF; Stephanie Smittle breaks down the Spring Arts issue; and we finish up with just a tiny bit of Oscar chatter.